MoveUp Benefits (differing answers)

[clarkgriswold]

Hi:

We are on the Beyond this month and placed a successful MoveUp bid to a Sky Suite.

 

Before making the MoveUp bid, I chatted with a Celebrity Customer Service rep and was told if successful, we’d get the benefits that come with a Suite.(Retreat, etc)

 

I am now folks posting that this inclusion of benefits with MoveUp is limited (or none at all.)

 

We are trying to determine if we still need the Premium Drink Package and the Premeir Access for wi-fit, priority embarkation, and so forth.)

 

Does anyone have any experience with this issue of MoveUp and perks/benefits?

[omeinv]

You will have the benefits of the retreat, but not the benefits of a suite.  That is to say, you will have dining in Luminae, and access to the retreat lounge and sun deck.  You will not get the perks of the suite (Premium Drink Package, or Premium WiFi).  If you have those from your original booking you'll keep them.

 

In the Retreat areas, drinks are included, so if you have no package, or only the basic package, you can order premium drinks in the Retreat.

 

Harris

Denver, CO

[DaKahuna]

7 minutes ago, omeinv said:

In the Retreat areas, drinks are included, so if you have no package, or only the basic package, you can order premium drinks in the Retreat.

 

Only receive drinks without a package in the Retreat lounge, not in Luminae or on the Retreat Sun Deck. 

 

[Julma]

38 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

Only receive drinks without a package in the Retreat lounge, not in Luminae or on the Retreat Sun Deck. 

 

We were able to get them in Retreat Lounge and Sun Deck, but not Luminae.  

 

[DaKahuna]

23 minutes ago, Julma said:

We were able to get them in Retreat Lounge and Sun Deck, but not Luminae.  

 

 

 Nice.  Which ship — we’ve been asked for our Sea Pass cards at the Sun Deck but have always had Premium package so has not made a difference.  On Edge and Silhouette we saw customers told they would have to pay because they did not have the drink package on the Retreat Sun Deck. 

 

[CHEZMARYLOU]

You will have priority embarkation. 

[Julma]

8 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 Nice.  Which ship — we’ve been asked for our Sea Pass cards at the Sun Deck but have always had Premium package so has not made a difference.  On Edge and Silhouette we saw customers told they would have to pay because they did not have the drink package on the Retreat Sun Deck. 

 

Ascent.  We were on for 3 weeks.  All in move up rooms.  I will say, each week was a bit different with what we received.  First week we moved up to a Sky Suite and was supposed to bring basic drinks and wifi, we received premium for both.  The second week we moved up to an Edge Villa and they credited us back for the basic drinks and wifi we had purchased and we received premium for both.  The third week, we booked an oceanview while onboard and then was upgraded to a Sky Suite and didn't receive any drinks or wifi.  It's no wonder people are confused.

[jelayne]

2 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

Only receive drinks without a package in the Retreat lounge, not in Luminae or on the Retreat Sun Deck. 

 

Or anywhere else on the ship with a beverage package. 

[1Virgo]

sounds as though you have the Classic beverage package right now. You will keep the same perks you have.  You do not automatically get a Premium drink package. You will get priority embarkation   IMO, paying to upgrade your drink package is worth it.  Daily gratuity is more for a Suite

 

Lots of new staff at Celebrity. Not all have correct info.  Have a great cruise

[clarkgriswold]

Thank you

Edited May 2 by clarkgriswold
Duplicate post

[clarkgriswold]

2 hours ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

You will have priority embarkation. 

 

Thank you for that added detail. We had pre-purchased the Premier Access that includes priority embarkation and wi-fi. We really don’t want the wi-fi but Premier Access also includes reserved seating in the theatre (and theyship appears quite full, so this might be helpful.) Do we get that with our Sky Suite upgrade, or will we need to keep Premier Access to enjoy that perk?
 

Also, we have an assigned 12:30 Embarkation, What time should we arrive based on this change to a suite?

 

•  

[clarkgriswold]

1 hour ago, 1Virgo said:

sounds as though you have the Classic beverage package right now. You will keep the same perks you have.  You do not automatically get a Premium drink package. You will get priority embarkation   IMO, paying to upgrade your drink package is worth it.  Daily gratuity is more for a Suite

 

Lots of new staff at Celebrity. Not all have correct info.  Have a great cruise

We currently have purchased Premier Access (mostly for priority embarkation and reserved theatre seating / don’t plan to use the wi-fi that is part of the package) and Premium Beverage package. 
 

We are wondering what, if anything, we can now cancel because it comes with the suite upgrade.

[wrk2cruise]

Personally I would cancel the Premier Access. 

 

Priority embarkation for suites is better.  I would arrive between 10:30 and 11.  If you are at terminal 25 go to the far left doors for Retreat.  You will be taken upstairs to the suite embarkation lounge to be checked in and will be escorted to the ship as soon as it's cleared for boarding.  Luminae will be open for lunch around 11:30 or 12.

 

Suites have reserved seating in the theater on Chic nights, really no big deal, not the best seats in the house.  I've never seen the need for reserved seating in the theater on Celebrity.  Just arrive about 10 minutes before showtime

[1Virgo]

Agree with wrk2cruise. 

[clarkgriswold]

7 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

Personally I would cancel the Premier Access. 

 

Priority embarkation for suites is better.  I would arrive between 10:30 and 11.  If you are at terminal 25 go to the far left doors for Retreat.  You will be taken upstairs to the suite embarkation lounge to be checked in and will be escorted to the ship as soon as it's cleared for boarding.  Luminae will be open for lunch around 11:30 or 12.

 

Suites have reserved seating in the theater on Chic nights, really no big deal, not the best seats in the house.  I've never seen the need for reserved seating in the theater on Celebrity.  Just arrive about 10 minutes before showtime

This is incredibly helpful. Thank you both. We’ve just cancelled the Premier Access. 
 

Now, as to drink packages, we have purchased the Premium Package. Will drinks in the Retreat bars be included because we are Suite guests? Will they be included anywhere else on the ship?

[George C]

1 hour ago, clarkgriswold said:

This is incredibly helpful. Thank you both. We’ve just cancelled the Premier Access. 
 

Now, as to drink packages, we have purchased the Premium Package. Will drinks in the Retreat bars be included because we are Suite guests? Will they be included anywhere else on the ship?

If you have premium package you can drink in any bar on the ship , if no package and in a suite drinks are included only in indoor retreat area.

[H2O_traveler]

Long detailed answer of our experience:

 

Just got off the Equinox last week, where we moved up from a Verandah to a Sunset Sky Suite on a move up bid.  We did NOT have a drink package, premier access, or WIFI packages purchased. So this information is for those who move up with no extras.  (We are however elite status so there are a couple perks that come with that)

 

Beverage Packages - Liquor and beverages in the retreat lounge were free and the selection for alcohol was premium level, not classic.  Because the retreat lounge concierge hosts are posted at the front door, ensuring only suite guests have access, once you are in the lounge you are not asked for your room card at the bar located inside.  The bar in the retreat lounge did not serve the specialty martini's you'd see at the martini bar but, the the liquor selections were vast and beyond the classic package. I'll attach a picture.  Additionally there was an automated cappuccino machine that was accessible anytime the lounge was open so we went in and made our own coffee throughout the day.  There was also a fridge with a selection of sodas and upgraded bottled water you could grab anytime. (also snacks during various times of the day).  So, moving up to the premium in your beverage package will depend on what you are looking for to drink above the classic package and where you're looking to drink it at.  

 

On the sun deck for the Equinox there is no bar on that level.  As such, the attendants had to go down to a different lounge to bring drinks back.  I saw them asking for people's room card keys when they went to go get drinks so I am assuming they charged for them, if they didn't have an added drink package already.  Because we never had a drink package, we never ordered drinks on the sun deck so we never tried it out. I've heard whether or not you get charged for drinks on the sundeck depends on the server and whether or not the ship you are on has a dedicated bar on that deck. I'd guess whether or not you are charged extra for premium drinks would be along the same line.

 

Dining in Luminae you had to pay for your drinks if you ordered something and didn't have a drink package.  I had ordered a martini one night that we paid for, as well as a bottle of wine. We had treated 2 new friends we met on the cruise into luminae to enjoy a dinner with us so ordered a bottle of wine that night to share. (BTW - Luminae was very accomodating for the two guest we invited, we just had to pay an upcharge for them).  

 

For ourselves, we never bought the drink packages because we were going to (and did) bring two bottles of wine the day we boarded, had preorder two martini flights on sale, and with Elite status were going to have access to elite happy hour. Having paid for beverage packages previously, we knew we wouldn't drink enough to justify the cost difference and decided we would just pay per item for anything extra we wanted (including premium drinks).  That said, with the move up offer, our final bill for 12 days of sailing only included that one bottle of wine and a single martini from Luminae.  We would just make our way to the retreat lounge before dinner, going up on deck, or on our way to activities to grab a drink or two to go.  We never found it inconvenient as we enjoyed the quick visit with the retreat crew and other suite guests while we ordered the drinks.  Plus, my husband said right from day one that the bartender in the retreat lounge made the best old fashioned anywhere so why would he order at another bar. In the end, we also actually never once had to use our elite status to take advantage of elite happy hour or the elite continental breakfast  to get our morning lattes.  The retreat lounge was more than what was needed.

 

For Wi-fi, elite status gave us each 90 mins for a total of 180 min combined.  There were no other minutes included as we had done the move up bid but, the 180 min was more than what we needed.  For extra internet time, once we were in port, we either found free Wi-Fi on shore or just purchased cheap e-sim packages to catch up.  The e-sims allowed us, once we were back on the ship, to spend additional time until we'd start sailing again. E-sims also worked great for having access to uber, communicating with tour operators and searching maps on shore.  This was a better option for us than paying for ship Wi-Fi.

 

Embarkation, Reserved Theater Seating, and Disembarking  - No need to but any kind of additional premium access package.  We arrived at around 11:45 am and were literally the only suite guests walking on at that time so had about 6 different celebrity employees guiding and checking us in.  It was beyond smooth and made us feel quite VIP.  Disembarking was not so private, as the retreat lounge can get crowded with other suite guests and the luggage people are walking off with, BUT... It was still super comfortable with access to breakfast and whenever you wanted to leave, an officer would escort the suite guests off privately through a secret door that bypassed the lines and dropped us straight at the gangway to sign out for a final time with our sail and sign cards.  This particular sailing had issues with winds and the gangway so regular guest were waiting for anywhere from 20 min - an hour to walk off where we just left direct.  It was a really big perk.  For theater reservations, on the two chic nights suite guests had reserved seating. It was on the second level but was the center stage.  Additionally, once we sat down our butler came right over and asked us by name if there was anything he could get for us from the bar (we were never charged for those drinks). There were not any other nights with reserved seating for the entertainment but it wasn't a problem as we never had trouble finding seats (may be different on another ship).

 

Final notes: In our room the mini fridge was full of drinks which we would have been charged for if we wanted to drink from there.  We asked to have them removed and then just brought up our own from the retreat lounge occasionally to store in there.  There was also both glass and plastic bottles of water on the counter in our room.  Our room attendant told us the plastic bottles were free but we would be charged for the glass bottled water.  He continued to replenish the plastic water bottles throughout the cruise.  For the the bottles of wine we brought on board... We invited friends we had made on the cruise to share in the wine in our room.  As such, we asked our butler if he could chill the wine and bring extra wine glasses.  He went way beyond that and arranged for three different horderve plates to be brought in and offered to bring any other types of drinks our friends may enjoy more so than our bottle of wine.  During our little party he made a point of stopping by personally to see if everyone had everything they needed and again offered to get anything more one would want.  I'm fairly confident we would not have been charged had we asked for additional beverages.

 

Conclusion - Suite cruising is awesome and more than we could have hoped for.  The minor perks you don't get utilizing a move up bid were very minimal and never made us feel like were anything less than if we had booked originally as suite guests.  For us, the extra costs to have added on with beverage packages and premium access would not have been worth it but... if you are a heavy user of Wi-Fi, or want the convenience of just ordering any type of drink wherever you are on the ship, then pay the extra. We definitely made sure to tip extra (beyond prepaid gratuities) to the retreat bartender, concierge hostess, butler, etc. at the end of the cruise because they really made the cruise more special than we could have imagined.

 

Enjoy your cruise and I hope the move up bid experience is as great for you as it was for us.  It would be very difficult to go back down to not-suite cruising now that we've had a taste. 

 

 

[H2O_traveler]

Picture of Bar in Equinox Retreat Lounge

 

Edited May 2 by H2O_traveler